Kodandera Madappa Cariappa

Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (28 January 1899-15 May 1993) was a Field Marshal of India who served in World War II and the First Indo-Pakistani War. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire and the Legion of Merit awards for his services, and was one of only two field marshals of India, the other being Sam Manekshaw. Cariappa was also the first Indian officer to command a unit of the British Army, taking command in 1942.

Biography
Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was born on 28 January 1899 in Sanivarsanthe, Coorg, British India. Cariappa joined the British Army in 1919 and was promoted to Captain in 1927, and was posted to the 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry, and in 1938 he was made a Major after some service in Iraq. From 1941 to 1942 he fought in the Middle Eastern campaign of World War II in Iraq, Syria, and Iran, and from 1943 to 1944 he served in Burma against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). In 1942, he was the first Indian officer to command a unit. He ended the war as a Lieutenant-Colonel, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services.

After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, Cariappa was responsible for dividing the Indian Army - he amiably transferred some assets to newly-independent Pakistan, a state built for Indian Muslims. During the First Indo-Pakistani War that same year, he was made General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, and he showed tremendous energy in leading his armies against huge odds. In 1949 he succeeded Roy Bucher as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army after the war's end, and in 1986 he was promoted to Field Marshal at the age of 87. He died in Bangalore (which used to be a part of the princely state of Coorg, his home) in 1993 at the age of 94.